Fish Fingers

           

We all love Indian Street Food starting from bhel puri, pani puri, papdi chaat, dahi bhalle, samosa chaat and the list goes on and on. If you move towards Eastern part of India you'll find there are number of vendors selling "CHOP" aka croquettes. They have variety of chops in their stall starting from vegetable chop, fish chop and chicken chop. You name it and you'll find that variety in their stall.

One of the very famous street foods is Fish Fingers or Fish Sticks. They are very delicious snack /appetizer and go very well with your evening cup of tea. They are also one of the favorite recipes for kids. 

But the question is how much hygiene they maintain in their shops. We're feeding those chops aka croquettes to our kids to our family members but always have a guilt in our mind i.e. what oil they're using, what kind of water they're using etc etc.

I have a stern belief that home cooked food is always better than street food. So, I prefer to give my family home cooked food but not compromising on the taste.

Fish Fingers or Fish Sticks or Fish Nuggets whatever you call them are made from any kind of White Fish (Cod, Haddock, Basa etc). Here, I'm using Tilapia.

These fish fingers or fish sticks are first battered and then coated with bread crumbs and finally deep fried. You can serve them with any kind of dipping sauce of your choice.

You can also freeze them for upto 3 weeks and when you want thaw them and fry them in hot oil on medium heat for 10-12 minutes. You're done.

So, let's start with the recipe:

Ilish Bhapa in Frying Pan

               

We Bengalis go mad over this fish, and we call it Ilish which is also known as Hilsa.....nobody else in the world can understand a Bengali's love for Ilish.

llish Bhapa is one of the signature Bengali dishes which can be enjoyed with steamed white rice. Today we’ll make Sorse Ilish or Hilsa in Mustard Sauce Gravy. It's a very easy peasy recipe and the fish retains its flavor because of the very few ingredients are used to cook this delectable dish. Just mustard seeds paste, coconut milk, salt, turmeric and you're done. 

I have already shared a recipe of how to cook Ilish Bhapa in microwave. You can check the recipe here,but this time we'll make this dish in frying pan. Either way you cook this dish taste awesome. 

I have used coconut milk here instead of grated coconut you because that gives a smooth texture of this dish without comprising upon the taste. You can use whatever you like. So, let's start with the recipe:

Sorse Ilish......HIlsa in Mustard Sauce Gravy

            

We Bengalis go mad over this fish, and we call it Ilish which is also known as Hilsa. Nobody in this world can understand a Bengali's love for Ilish.

Today in this video we’ll make Sorse Ilish or HIlsa in Mustard Sauce Gravy. It's a very easy peasy recipe and the fish retains its flavor because of the very few ingredients are used to cook this delectable dish. Just mustard seeds paste, salt, turmeric and you're done. 

Crab Croquettes

                         
Hello foodies, hope you all are doing good. It’s that time of the year when we all shed the layers of woolen clothes and get into some bright, beautiful colors of spring. Though, we don’t have official spring here in India but still I have seen many stores (clothing) offers discounts in the name of Spring……Lolzzzzz

Lately, it’s been too hot and humid here in Kolkata, West Bengal and I’m afraid how I’ll be surviving the upcoming months. I think the best way to deal with summer is to keep yourself hydrated every time. Drink as much as water you can which helps in releasing the toxins. Last year I had posted many summer special drinks and I’m sure they will help in quenching your thirst.

• Virgin Watermelon Sangria
• Aam Panna 
• Pinacolada
• Cucumber Lime Mojito
• Mango Kulfi
• Mango Ice-cream

Anyway I think I’m getting deviated from today’s post which is about Crabs. I haven’t tasted Crab until I went to US and trust me I didn’t like it much as I was getting a very weird kind of smell but when I came to India and found crab sticks in one of the superstores, I thought of trying it once again and the very first recipe which came to my mind was to make Croquettes out of those.

These Crab sticks are very hassle free to work with as they come ready to use. You don’t have to even crack the shells (that's the worst part of eating crab). The recipe calls for very few ingredients and the time it takes from pan to plate is less than 10 mins. Because it’s such a hassle free dish it works best when you have unplanned guests at your home provided you have crab sticks handy in your freezer. So, without any further ado let’s begin with the recipe:

Recreation of Dynamite Shrimp

Time flies……...it’s been a year since we are back from US and living in India. In this one year I did lot of things starting from decorating our new home to learn absolutely new recipes. I always appreciate people exploring new things and implement the same in their and other's daily life. Its an awesome feeling.

When we were in the US we used to dine out very often and our favorite restaurant would be “Buffalo Wild Wings” which is a sports bar with 360 degree view of TV's being installed even in the restrooms. They are specialized in making Chicken Wings. Being there, I had a fear of not getting same Chicken Wings here in India but I was actually wrong. I found few shops like Spencer's and Republic of Chicken who sell just speciality wings and guess what I have re-created that dish at home (recipe here).

Apart from gobbling Chicken Wings one of the other restaurants we used to love is “P.F.Chang’s” which is a Chinese Restaurant adjusted to American Cuisine. It’s no secret that most American Chinese food restaurants serve dishes that have been adapted to please the Westernized American palate. My husband introduced me to this restaurant and one of the dishes we used to love there was “Dynamite Shrimp”. Though I’m allergic to Shrimp I couldn’t resist myself to this mouth watering dish. So we restricted ourselves to this restaurant and used to visit there very rarely.

Dynamite Shrimp is made from deshelled and deveined shrimps coated with corn flour-egg mixture and then deep fried. Finally, these fried shrimps are dipped in a sauce and served over bed of lettuce.

We used to love this appetizer. My only complain was about the portion served as it was too less compared to the price. Maybe we used to feel so because of our love for Shrimps.

I always say that being a foodie is a boon and a curse at the same time. You get to know about so many different  varieties of food from different cuisines but if you love those dishes you’ll be craving for that dish to death.

My love for Dynamite Shrimp did something like that to me. From last few weeks I was so much craving for that dish that I started looking for the recipe and tried them all but couldn’t match the flavors. Finally I got my hands on this recipe and trust me it is very much close to the restaurant style or “P.F.Chang’s” style “Dynamite Shrimp”. Do give it a try and let me know your honest opinion on my recreation of Dynamite Shrimp.

Schezwan Rice

Few days back I took a day off from work and utilized it in the best possible way I could. I did whatever I had planned for that day but amid of all the chores, suddenly a thought ran through my mind - What to have for lunch? Well, I opened my Fridge and found some cute little veggies peeping through the vegetable basket. 

After seeing those I thought of preparing Noodles (usually that's the best option I get when I want to finish off my veggies). But with the flick of mind I thought why not Schezwan Rice! It was completely impromptu preparation but the end product was so palatable that I couldn't resist the blogger inside me to click few pics to blog. 

Schezwan Rice is one of the most loved dishes in Indo-Chinese cuisine. You can find this dish in almost every Menu Card of Indo-Chinese restaurant. If you love a little spicy food I'm sure you will love this dish too. I'm not a full-time spicy food lover but I do like it sometimes. It's hot, spicy and completely irresistible. 

The prime ingredient of this recipe is the: Schezwan Sauce. If you have it handy then making Schezwan Rice is like a child's play. I like to add lot of veggies to my Fried Rice. You can make this recipe completely Vegetarian or add meat of your choice. This time I added few shrimps. 

So, let's start with the recipe: 

Steamed Shrimp Curry/ Bhapa Chingri

Shrimp/Prawns/Chingri whatever you call it, they are our (Bengali's) all time favorites. We can use it in each and every vegetable, you just name it and with the blink of eye we are ready with the dish. Moreover there are number of recipes that can be made out of it. Such is the love of Bengali's for "Chingri".

One of the most popular recipe cooked with Shrimp is Chingri Malaikari (recipe here) which is a signature bong delicacy. 

The recipe which I'm sharing today is a quintessential recipe of Bengali Cuisine i.e Bhapa Chingri or Steamed Shrimp in Mustard and Coconut Gravy. I still remembered my Mom cooking this delectable recipe in a pressure cooker and as soon as it's done I use to run to the kitchen and open the cooker to get the whiff of this flavorful dish.

Bhapa Chingri is cooked in mustard paste with coconut milk and a generous amount of mustard oil and slit chillies. Some recipe calls for poppy seed paste but I like it this way. This recipe is very similar to another very popular recipe i.e Ilish Bhapa (recipe here). Just replace the Ilish/Hilsa fish with Chingri/Shrimp.

Traditionally this recipe is prepared using a pressure cooker. All the ingredients are mixed together and placed in a steel container with airtight lid. This container is then placed in the pressure cooker and steamed for 8-10 mins. But, I have used microwave method for preparing this recipe. 

So, without any further ado let's start with the recipe:

Goan Fish Curry

We both love Pomfret just like anything. Whether it's a Pomfret Fry, Tandoori Pomfret or Pomfret Curry they all are finger licking good. 

The recipe which I'm going to share today is a very popular dish called as "Goan Fish Curry". In Goa Pomfrets are commonly known as Pamplet. There are several curries which can be made by this delectable fish but this recipe is very common in Northern parts of Goa.

This fish curry is bit spicy so it's commonly served with steaming hot rice. So, let's start with the recipe:

Ilish Bhapa/ Hilsa in Coconut and Mustard Gravy

 We Bengalis go mad over this fish, we call it Ilish a.k.a Hilsa.....nobody else in the world can understand Bengali's love for Ilish or Hilsa. This fish can also be called as the King of all fishes because of its look, taste and texture.

There are lot of recipes we can make from Hilsa but there are some signature Bengali dishes which are: 

• Ilish Bhapa (Hilsa in Coconut and Mustard Gravy)
• Sorshe Ilish (Hilsa in Spicy Mustard Gravy)
• Doi Ilish (Hilsa in Yogurt and Mustard Gravy)

Among all, I love Ilish Bhapa. It's a very simple recipe and the fish retains its flavors because very few ingredients are used to cook this delactable dish. Just mustard seeds paste, grated coconut, salt, turmeric and you're done!

I have seen my Mom making this finger licking recipe using the traditional way where fish steaks are coated with all the ingredients and then steamed it in a pressure cooker and our home used to get filled with its fragnance. 

When I was in USA I tried to make this recipe in Microwave and trust me there's no difference in the taste at all. Since then I use the microwave method to make this recipe. Today I'm going to share this delicious recipe using the same method. So let's get started.

Chingri Malaikari/ Shrimp Malaikari.......A Signature Bong Delicacy

Fish and rice is every bengali's comfort food. Ilish, Chingri, Rui, Katla, Koi, Tangra, Pabda, Bhetki and the list goes on and on and on.........We love every variety of fish but amongst all Ilish (Hilsa) and Chingri (Shrimp/Prawn) are our all time favorites.

Since I had been raised outside Bengal we were not privileged to relish some of the very common varieties of fish. We use to get only Rui, Katla, Koi and sometimes Chingri. But whatever variety we would find my Mom always came out with finger licking delicacies. 

Chingri Macher Malaikari is one of the signature dishes of Bengali Cuisine. Every Bong family prepares this delicacy on special occasions. I had seen my Mom preparing this scrumptious delicacy with lot of patience and hard work, she used to delicately clean and devein the shrimp first, then grate the coconut and extract the coconut milk out of it...OMG!!!! Thanks to the supermarkets as we can easily find both the things readily available on the shelves and making this succulent recipe with the blink of an eye.

I have made this Malaikari using head on Shrimps as they add another dimension to this dish. If you want you can use headless Shrimps too. Coconut milk is the key ingredient of this dish. I have used grated coconut along with coconut milk you can use canned coconut milk or make it at home by scraping and soaking the coconut in hot water and then make a fine paste (add a little bit of milk if required). Strain it, your coconut milk is ready to use.

Let's start with the recipe:

Macher Chop (Fish Croquettes)..............From the streets of Kolkata

Bengalis and Fish are inseparable. There's a very renowned saying in Bengali "Mache Baate Bangali" which means Fish and Rice make a Bengali. Being in India this year we can enjoy so many different varieties of fishes. Although we used to get some of the popular varieties in Portland(USA) too but they would be frozen :(

Monsoons are in full swing in India now. So, our tea time demands for some snacks specially some "Tele Bhaja" (deep fried snacks). If you are in Kolkata then you're in the hub of street foods. Every evening you can find various stalls at every nooks and corners of the streets. You can easily devour them standing at the stalls but making them at home gives you an immense pleasure and what more they come out hygenic too.

"Chop" is nothing else but a Cutlet or Croquette. It  is a small, cylindrical or round shaped, stuffed with minced meat and mashed potatoes or mixed vegetables. It is then dipped into corn flour batter, rolled in breadcrumbs and then deep fried. "Macher Chop" or "Fish Croquette" is a very common snack in our home. We both love them with finely sliced onions, cucumbers, tomatoes and ketchup. These croquettes can be prepared using many kind of fishes but I prefer Katla than anything else.

It doesn't matter whether its a vegetarian or non-vegetarian chop, it will have its own unique taste and equally tempting too. These serve as a great appetizer and a complete party pleaser. So, let's start with the recipe:

Rui Macher Jhal......Rohu Fish in Mustard Sauce (My go-to Fish Curry)

Maach-Bhaat (Fish and Rice) is every Bengali's comfort food. A Bengali's love for fish is endless. There is a popular saying too "Mache Bhate Bangali" i.e. Fish and Rice makes a Bengali. We eat so many different fishes starting from fresh water ones like Rohu, Katla, Pabda to salt water fishes like Hilsa, Pomfret etc. But to be very frank I like only specific fishes maybe because I grew up mainly in Central India where we would get only 2-3 varieties. Whatever the reason is, the varieties I eat I just love them.

Here in Portland, Oregon we get Rohu, Hilsa, Pabda, Tangra etc in a Middle-Eastern shop but all in frozen form. Thanks to an Asian store out here where we get fresh fishes like Shrimp (Prawn), Pomfret, Bhetki and Tilapia (lately I started eating that). 

The recipe which I am going to share today is generally prepared with Hilsa or Ilish but I have seen my Mom to make it with Rohu too but with a slight twist. She adds cumin seeds along with the mustard seeds which not only reduces the pungency of mustard seeds but also gives a nice flavor to the dish. I like to make it the way she does. So, let's dig into the recipe: